Read More

Read More

"95% are prepared to walk out or refuse to take cases if the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) refuses to fix it.

"There has been no investment for 20 years, nothing, it is unsustainable to carry on like this.

"The public would be appalled if they knew how bad things have become, change is needed immediately.

"These astonishing responses from frontline prosecutors, from the most experienced QCs to the most junior barristers in the early stages of their careers, show how broken our criminal justice system has become."

He added: "Police forces have been denied the resources they need and now can't cope with soaring serious crime rates.

"The Crown Prosecution Service has been battered by savage cuts to its budget and lacks the capacity to deal with increasing numbers of complex cases."

Richard Atkins QC, the Chair of the Bar, said: "One of my priorities for 2019 is to ensure that those members of the Bar who do publicly funded work are fairly and properly remunerated.

"The many barristers who are instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service perform a vital public function, without whom the system of justice in this country would not operate."

The Government announced extra funding for criminal defence barristers' trial fees last year after they went on strike in protest at a new system for determining their legal aid payments.